The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Rasaq Okoya renews marital vow

    Rasaq Okoya renews marital vow

    AARE Rasaq Akanni Okoya hardly grants an interview without speaking glowingly about his younger wife, Sade Okoya. So, when news filtered out weeks ago that the billionaire businessman would be renewing his marital vow with Sade, not a few people looked forward to the day with bated breath. Last Saturday, the landlord of Oluwa Ni Sola Estate, Ajah, Lagos, invited the who is who in the Lagos social, economic and political circles to witness the grand event.

    The day started with seraies of prayers, led by some prominent clerics in Abeke Memorial Mosque, built in the estate in memory of Chief Okoya’s mother. The couple later moved in to one of the expansive living rooms in Oluwa Ni Sola Estate, where guests had been seated to welcome the couple. National Leader of All Peoples Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, topped the list of very important guests who graced the event.

    In his characteristic manner, Chief Okoya thanked Sade for accepting to come into his life at the time she did. She went down the memory lane on his journey with Sade. According to him, Sade had not only been loving and supportive, she had been the mainstay of his businesses with her innovative ideas. Sade in return thanked Okoya for being her friend, her father, her husband and her angel.

  • …plans high octane wedding for daughter

    ONE family whose penchant for elaborate celebration is not in doubt is that of Chief Rasaq Akanni Okoya. In this regard, another opportunity has presented itself in an impending wedding between Hadiza, one of the daughters of multi-billionaire industrialist, Aare Akanni Rasaq Okoya and Olamiju, her heartthrob and eldest son of former Oyo State Governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala.

    Already, April 12 has been picked for the solemnisation of the relationship, and the Oluwanisola Villa home of the bride’s father has already undergone a serious face-lift for the event, which promises to host many of the top players in Nigeria’s political terrain as well as captains of industry. The introduction leg of the wedding had held late last year when members of Olamiju’s family, led by the former Oyo State governor, visited the magnificent Eleganza Estate of the Okoyas in Ajah, Lagos. The session was attended by some prominent Nigerians, including the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

  • Gbadamosi’s Other Side: As an Eyo leader, I can recite the ofo(incantations) fluently

    Gbadamosi’s Other Side: As an Eyo leader, I can recite the ofo(incantations) fluently

    Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi ranks among the luckiest in his generation. He became a commissioner in Lagos State at a young age of 27, and followed it up with the position of Minister of National Planning and Chairman, Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPRRA). In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI and SEGUN AJIBOYE, the scion of a successful industrialist talks about his life, relationship with Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, career and his unparalleled passion for the arts, among other issues. Excerpts:

    You wanted to be a medical doctor but ended up an economist. What happened?
    In my time, you were either a doctor or a lawyer. You are talking about the 50s, when even your parents’ daily prayers for you were that ‘you’ll become a doctor or lawyer’. So, they were the in-thing in those days, and I am sure that there must be something to it. But thankfully, my biology was lousy. If I saw blood, I would scream and almost run mad. So in that respect, I was a non-starter. Secondly, my father was a successful businessman and member of the House of Assembly, self-tutored. My sister, Mrs. Folami, was the attorney-general of Lagos State.

    So your father was a member of the House of Assembly?
    Yes. Alhaji S.A. Gbadamosi, he was the treasurer of the Action Group. He was also a national executive member of the Action Group, and one of the founders of the group.

    How much of these would you say reflected on you?
    I went with him to campaigns. Akintola lived in our house. Many other top politicians of those days lived in our house. And they were part of my growing up process. Their children were my friends. So we all mingled, and my mother used to joke that ‘you young man, you’re going to be a politician’. She said this because I always read newspapers and I was very close to my father.

    Your mother thought you were going to be a politician. Was she right at the end of the day?
    The fact that I participated in public issues moved me near enough. All the appointments then came. I was public-spirited.

    Let us go back to the question of what you wanted to study. What we gathered was that as a successful businessman, your father wanted you take over the family business.
    That is absolutely true. I remember what transpired between us that day. We were approaching our school certificate examination period, and dad and I stood on the balcony, and he said ‘Young man, you’ll soon be done with your school certificate. What do you think you want to do?’ That was the first time we would be having such a discussion. I said I wanted to read medicine, but that my biology was not the best. And he just laughed and said something like ‘children of these days, you would go and read economics.’ As at that time, I had not heard about economics. So as soon as we completed the school certificate, I hopped on the plane and off to overseas.

    Was it the allure of overseas that made you agree to go abroad to study economics?
    I think it was assumed. But even before then, all the people that my father has had a hand in training had schooled abroad. And when the likes of SLA and HOD came back and stayed in our house, that made our house a spectacle.

    You were a commissioner in Lagos State at the age of 27.Don’t you think your generation was very lucky?

    If that is your interpretation, I think I accept it in good faith. It was a conference of circumstances. First, I had a background. And secondly, I had this profile, I was writing a great deal in the newspapers, especially the Sunday Times of those days. Sam Amuka, Gbolabo Ogunsanwo and others all knew me. I always contributed to the papers. I was writing a lot of analysis. I would analyse the budget and make deep comments, which I think must have come to the notice of the powers that be.

     

    Any regret not studying medicine?
    There couldn’t have been any regret. I soon fell in love with the science of economics and the allure of public discourse. Public affairs became a wonderful fascination. As a matter of fact, as soon as I entered the university, I was immersed in world affairs a great deal. I belonged to several organisations involved with world decolonisation. And the University of Manchester was a hotbed for world politics at the time. And when MPs came to give lectures at the university, we would bombard them with questions. Issues like the apartheid, Vietnam and the Eastern block captured our imaginations.
    While growing up, you were surrounded by great people like your dad, Awolowo, HOD Davies and others like them.

    How much of these imparted into you to form the kind of person you are today?
    Let me exemplify that by taking on one of the trials of the Action Group crisis. A lot of youngsters were affected by the socialist orientation. But my father would not want to hear it. He was a businessman, running his business successfully, running his factories and making his money. Whereas Chief Awolowo was rubbing minds with the left-wing people like Sam Ikoku and all the radicals of left-wing persuasion.
    Which side do I belong? Ideologically, I had my sympathy with these people, but my father was still my father, and my heart was with him. But in terms of the global dimension, I was a socialist. By the time I came back, Kanmi Ishola Osobu, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and others had become my great friends. At the beginning, my father thought it would soon wear off and that I would come to his side to join him in the business, which I did. So the transition from a rabid left wing youngster to daddy’s assistant in the office, helping him to run the factory…

    (Cuts in) Most people in your age bracket are either members of Afenifere or other socio-cultural groups. You don’t seem to belong to any group. Do you have any particular reason for this?

    It is wonderful that you raised this. Erstwhile leader of Afenifere, Baba Abraham Adesanya, in-between seriousness and humouring, wondered why I would not join Afenifere and be part of what he thought my father would have been, the Yoruba persuasion of Afenifere. But I could not see myself in sectional politics like that. Looking at the national picture, I could not fathom a bifurcated political alliance like that. I mean if I were going to talk or reason about anything at all, it would be about Nigeria, Africa and world politics.
    But you’ll agree that Afenifere is not a political organisation.
    It is a cultural organisation, but tending towards politics.

    Is there any possibility you might still join?
    That is too late now.

    You are a businessman, a playwright and one with deep passion for the arts. When do you get all the energy to do all these from?
    Even me, I have always wondered where it comes from. Let me tell you a story of what happened to me recently. A childhood of mine dragged me and my wife to a shindig. It was the first time in a very long while that I would be up till about 2am, dancing and eating. The following day, I found myself sleeping all the day because I couldn’t cope with the deprivation of sleep. And so I said to myself, is this what I would be doing if I were a politician? But let me say something here, the assignments I had for the country, as a commissioner in Lagos State, and more importantly, as a federal minister, were gripping and of high concentration. But thank God, it was for a short period, but which was very tasking. Abdusalami did not appoint an oil minister, so some of those responsibilities were taken up by me. Within the period, I had a neck pain which didn’t leave me for about six months because you would just wake up and be asked to proceed to Geneva or to proceed to New York. You didn’t know how many hours you spend flying all over the world. It was so tasking, and I really didn’t know that I was made of that stuff.

    This was a period when the country was trying to democratise.
    Exactly, we were democratising, and it was taking a lot of tolls in terms of what we did and how we did it. And Abdusalami was absolutely insisting on quitting along with his team. It was a fine legacy, and I am very proud of that.

    Your period at the PPRA, how did you get the appointment?
    I was sitting down, minding my own business when President Olusegun Obasanjo sent somebody to me to say they wanted me to come and help.

    But you accepted to serve once again.
    Yes, of course. I will not really turn down an offer to serve my nation. It is a national assignment. Although it wasn’t a full-time job, but it turned out to be very tough, locking horns with Adams Oshiomhole and his men. We had to endure six strikes led by Oshiomhole.

    So Adams Oshiomhole gave you people tough time?
    Of course, he did (laughter).

    Do you have any particular regret about that period?
    There is none at all. I was doing what I thought I had to do in terms of policy choices. Being an economist, you would be confronted all the times by choices.

    Looking back, what would you love to have done differently, starting from when you were a commissioner, a federal minister and in the PPRA?
    It was a progression in terms of accumulation of knowledge, service to humanity and trying to make the country better.

    You were with Obasanjo and Abdusalami. Many people have said so many things about these two, including the good, the bad and the ugly.
    (Cuts in) I don’t know about that (laughter).
    Kindly give us a little insight into these two men.
    I think their military background makes them rather stern and decisive. I found out that whatever I presented to them, say ‘sir, how would you advise me on this?’, I found them exceptionally exemplary, if you like. In terms of policy choices, they were both discerning. And I picked up a lot of lessons from their capacity to take decisions. I went through some tutelage in statesmanship.

    Could this be as a result of the respect they have for you?
    On the contrary, the respect I have for them.

    Let’s look at your passion for the arts. At what point did you fall in love with arts?
    For me, art is an alternative definition for beauty of life. You look at mother art and all the things that are attributed to us to have pleasure, and you could get yourself involved in it or you could be a bystander. Most of us are bystanders. There are those of us who immerse ourselves in it than others. So, that has been my own choice.
    I loved literature in my secondary school days. I was taught by my seniors whom my white teachers thought I should emulate to hone my skill in literary expression. And I decided to take an interest in whatever was going on around me. Alongside reading for economics and reading the literature of dissent and politics of agitation, I found myself reading about protest literature. Those are the expressions of my generation. And that transmitted into literature of drama and literary readings of literature of protest and appealing to the young minds. By the time you find yourself immersed in all that, you find yourself adoring creative efforts, adoring what people are drawing and what people are composing, like in the case of Fela; and Fela and I became great friends. There is something I found fascinating about him, the ability to translate songs into protest songs. When you compose songs and talk about life’s absurdities. You know, 24 hours in a man’s life cannot just be taken up by sitting down reading, eating. You have to be engaged in what goes on around you. In French literature, there is a play, which translates into ordinary English that you must always be engaged in what goes on in the society. You cannot just sit down and wish that something happens. Get up and do something, go on the streets and protest and share views with your countrymen. And so, Kanmi Ishola-Osobu, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and others, together we formed an association. I was the secretary.

    All these people that you mentioned are known radicals. What about you?
    Of course, we are all radicals, nobody will deny this.
    But unlike them, you didn’t get into any trouble with the government.
    I spent two weeks in Kirikiri prison.

    What offence did you commit?
    I wrote a play.

    What play was this?
    It was called Trees grow in the desert.

    Was it a protest play?
    It had elements of dissent in it, and Gowon said they should come for me because it was playing on radio. He listened to it on a Sunday afternoon, and said ‘go and get that guy, whoever wrote it’. So I was arrested and put in Kirikiri. My father was worried and sent people to ask Jakande why his son was sent to Kirikiri prison. In the end, they saw that I was harmless. But till tomorrow, Gowon would see me and laugh and joke about it. He would say ‘Eh, my prisoner, how are you today?’.

    Can you give us a conservative figure that you have spent on arts?
    I cannot put a figure to it.

    Would it be millions, billions or more?
    Definitely it cannot be billions. Where would I get that from?

    Okay then, how much would you say that you have spent to purchase a single arts collection?
    I have paid something in the range of N6 million or N8 million for a collection.

    You knew Fela intimately. What is it that you knew about him that the world didn’t know?
    Hardly anything. His life was public knowledge. The most moving fallout from my relationship with him was attending to him at his death bed in his house. And Dede Mabiaku, who was one of his disciples, came looking for us when he was very, very ill and at the point of dying. And I looked for Wole Burknor, who was our chairman, to inform him that one of us was dying. So we trooped to his house in Kalakuta Republic, and proceeded to take him to the hospital.
    Up and till that time, Fela was still very rascally, refusing to go to any hospital. But at that last minute, he finally submitted himself and we drove him to the farthest hospital so that the prying eyes of journalists would not know where he was. So we took him to a hospital in Lagos Island. But it was too late, and few days later, he was gone.
    Looking at him in those last moments, what went on through your mind?
    It was sorrowful. Resonance of his songs and compositions came flooding through my mind. The world should not have lost such a person.

    Are you blaming the world for his death?
    The society in general, I mean all the beatings that he got, they must have no doubt taken a toll on him.

    Do you still listen to his music?
    Of course, I still listen to his music. I am one of his greatest fans.

    What is your attitude to religion?
    My father brought me into this world as a Muslim. And I took my Rasheed as a name, and I try to live by Islamic tenets, though I cannot claim to be the most religious. I respect the religion like I would respect any other religion. I even went to a Methodist primary school, and I got a distinction in Christian Religious Study.

    What is your attitude to traditional religion?
    There is a lot of philosophy in it. I have just rediscovered my D.O. Fagunwa novels, and you know you can get a lot of philosophical ideas in them. I am the Chairman of Eyo Agere in Lagos; I inherited that title. There is nothing fetish about it. It is a cultural and entertainment thing, especially where you need to learn all the sayings and ofo (incantations).

    So you can conveniently recite the ofo?
    Sure, I have to know them in order to lead my flock (general laughter).

  • Jim Ovia gets new look

    Jim Ovia gets new look

    IF you run into the former MD of Zenith Bank International, Jim Ovia, chances are that you may not recognise him. The chairman of Visafone, a telecommunication company, currently spots a rotund face and rich moustache that make him to look different from his days as Zenith Bank’s chief executive.

    Jim Ovia has spotted the new look since he relinquished his position in Zenith Bank. His new looks are a total departure from his clean shave as a banker. In fact, it is easy for one to confuse him with an actor in full costume, ready to act a role; even when he celebrated a wedding ceremony for her daughter in the UK, he wore the same looks.

    The man, who transformed Zenith Bank to a global institution, is said to have found a new pastime in humanitarian activities. A few months ago, he built a massive school, named James Hope College, in his hometown, Agbor in Delta State. He capped the building with the appointment of a British educationist as the principal.

    According to him, he decided to help in making quality education accessible to the people and he would be replicating the gesture in other states.

  • Segun Odegbami eyes marriage again

    Segun Odegbami eyes marriage again

    THE coast appears clear for legendary Nigerian footballer, Segun Odegbami, to start scoring goals again, but not in the sense in which he did for the former IICC (now 3SC) football club of Ibadan or the Nigerian national team. He has only been given a clean matrimonial bill of health to formalise his union with Oyin Adeyemi, his lover of many years. A High Court in the Ibadan Division, Oyo State, is said to have formally dissolved his first marriage to Jumoke Tejumola Odegbami.

    A few years ago, the former Green Eagles captain was hosted by Oyin’s family in an introduction ceremony that saw Segun gladly inform the family that he was ready to tie the nuptial knot with their daughter. The family was joyous and expectant that the union would soon be consummated, but nothing appeared to be happening several years after.

    It was gathered that Segun could not go ahead with the said marriage because his marriage to his former wife had not been officially dissolved, even though they had gone their separate ways for years. This became a clog in Segun and Oyin’s wheel of matrimonial progress. But now, Segun is said to have finally divorced Jumoke and a marriage is in the offing for him and Oyin.

  • Gay moments Gay moments

    Gay moments Gay moments

    HAPPY times are here again for Anita Uwagbale. On Wednesday, the former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria clocked 30, and she celebrated it in a low-key manner with some of her very close friends.

    A source close to her said the former beauty queen would have loved an elaborate party but she decided to lie low because her husband preferred it that way. Not many would have forgotten that her husband, Tom Iseghoni, was a guest in the cells of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of fraud and misappropriation of funds during his stint with Transcorp as the Group Chief Executive Officer.

    Before then, he had enjoyed some impressive credentials with his experience in leading global corporations, especially in America where he once resided. But he made little or no mark in Nigeria, and that, many believe, could have been responsible for the headlines he made when he was announced the GCEO of Transcorp.

    Shortly after his appointment, he called attention when he walked the former beauty queen down the aisle in an event that attracted the creme-de-la-creme in Nigeria’s socio-economic and political circles. He has been left off the EFCC hook and the couple must be happy that the storm is now over.

  • Our frustrations, by job seekers

    Our frustrations, by job seekers

    We are in a deep mess. If we had nothing to show for yesterday, and have no hope about today, what will tomorrow have in stock for us?” This was the line of thought of many youths across the country after the tragedy that greeted the Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment exercise last Saturday.

    They appear to have lost confidence in the ability of the present administration to address the problem of unemployment plaguing the country. In fact, they have given up hope on the country. They lamented that they the youth have been abandoned and left to be feasted upon by unscrupulous elements in the society without any efforts by the government to check the situation.

     

    How desperate job seekers are exploited and frustrated

    The Nation’s investigation revealed that the large turnout at the botched NIS recruitment exercise was a fallout of the frustrations job seekers have been going through, with legions falling into the traps of job-hunting fraudsters. Some of them paste posters and distribute handbills on major roads with mouth-watering offers for different vacancies advertised. They charge between N2, 000 and N5, 000 as registration fee from each job seeker and conduct mock examinations that have no relevance to the jobs applied for by the applicants.

    Some of other agencies, it was learnt, compel their helpless clients to agree to part with their first salary when they eventually secure a job for them. Some others go beyond taking the first salary; they also make their clients to agree to be parting with certain percentage of their salaries over a period of time.

    Banjo Samuel, a job seeker, shared his experience with one of such organisations. He said: “ I have had unpleasant experiences with many of these employment agents. I have been unemployed for the past five years. When I approached them for job, I was asked to pay N2, 000 for registration. After that, I was asked to come for examination, which about 25 of wrote. They used to conduct the tests in batches. I was in batch six that very day. One of them called me after the test and said they had an appointment for me. When I got to my supposed place of employment, I discovered that many staff of the company were already quitting because the organisation was not paying. When I went back to the employment company, they promised to get me another one. They have not done that till day. I have simply lost hope in this country.”

    Sule Abu has B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering. He also gave an account of how he became a casual production staff in a manufacturing company after he was employed as an engineer. “I paid an employment agency to help me get a mechanical engineering job that they advertised on their poster. After the payment, I wrote a test and was subsequently offered the position in a manufacturing company. When I got to the company, they told me that the only vacancy they had was for production staff. I accepted the offer out of desperation because I had nobody to help me. After some time, they turned me to a casual staff. We work like jackal everyday without anything tangible to show for it. They hire and fire at will without any compensation,” he narrated.

    Mr Adisa Ismaila Kareem graduated in 2007. After several years of searching for job to no avail, he said he regrets going to the higher institution. “I regret going to school, to the higher institution. My parents’ effort and my own efforts have amounted to nothing. I will never allow my children to go to school without having skills in one handwork or the other. When I left school, I searched for job for several years but I was not able to get one. It was a period of hardship for me. I decided to set up a small business after that ugly experience to keep body and soul together.”

    Bankers and workers in the telecommunication industry are not left out of the despicable trend.

    Bola (surname withheld), a banker, said it is no longer a fanfare or a thing of pride to work in the bank. Most of the banking vacancies, according to her, are strictly handled by consulting companies these days.

    She said: “There is nothing special in being a banker anymore. I can’t even advise my enemy to go there because most of us in the banks are casual workers. The companies that the banks engage to employ people rip them off a great deal. It may sound incredible but many bankers earn as low as N50, 000 a month now because they are casual staff. I am speaking from experience. In spite of this, they use us as slaves. Anyone that fails to cooperate is quickly shown the way out without any benefits. It is a sorry state we have found ourselves, my brother.”

     

    NANS, ethnic youth leaders, others condemn exercise

    The NIS recruitment tragedy has also been condemned by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and other youth groups. Yinka Gbadebo, the president of NANS, described it as shameless and unnecessary. He said: “It is shameful and unnecessary. The lives wasted can never be brought back no matter what the government may want to say or do at this point in time. They (the government) said they are going to make some adjustment but I don’t know the kind of adjustment they want to make because those lives that were lost cannot be restored. It is pertinent to know what the money generated from the recruitment exercise is meant for. What do they intend to use those monies for? Is the Federal Government trying to generate funds from Nigerians that have no job? These are questions we need to ask. We would definitely raise this issue at the confab conference.”

    Comrade Shettima Yerima, president of Arewa Consultative Youth Forum, also expressed dismay over the incident. He said the exercise was a fraud. “The tragedy is a clear indication that the country is totally in a mess. It had exposed the country to the international community that we have alot to do about our country. It is a clear demonstration of madness. The government has actually not done enough in securing opportunities for the youth. It has gone a long way to show that the government does not have value for the lives of the citizens. The money they collected from the applicants is a clear case of fraud because they collected money that they did not have to. This is a government that is supposed to be fighting corruption but unfortunately, it is the one at the centre of corruption,” he stated.

    According to Comrade Aluh Moses Odeh, the National Leader, All Middle Belt Youth Forum, the process that led to the death of jobless Nigerian graduates was not only “regrettable but avoidable”.

    The exercise in the opinion of Comrade Debo Adeniran, the executive chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), is unfortunate. He said: “The stampede is a national strategy and the tragedy is not about those who lost their lives or those who lost their limbs, it is about the leadership that is incapable of leading, a leadership that does not have the necessary intellectual and technical wherewithal to handle the offices they are elected to handle.”

     

    SURE P and U WIN programmes

    The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and Youth Enterprise With Innovation In Nigeria (YOUWIN) programmes of the Federal Government established for the purpose of empowering the youth in particular have also been described as a total failure in the light of the NIS recruitment tragedy. According to Prof. Raph Akinfeleye of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), “SURE P and YOUWIN programme is fallacy. It is riddles and jokes. If those things are working, you will not have that kind of crowd that went for the NIS recruitment exercise. All these exercises are gimmicks for 2015. They should stop deceiving the youth. The youth should be leaders of today and not tomorrow because they don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. If you want them to be leaders of tomorrow, then provide the environment for them to become that. Governments at all levels are only taking democracy for granted because it is dangerous to do so.”

    The programmes in the view of Dr. Haruna Abdullahi, a public sector and reform and security consultant, are insufficient to tackle the scale of unemployment in the country. “SURE-P and YOUWIN programmes are not enough to reduce the volume of unemployment in Nigeria. It is just a palliative measure. We have millions of youths that are unemployed. SURE-P is not what can solve the problem of unemployment. What can solve the problem of unemployment is when the government is able to activate and encourage the private sector’s employment drive. That is when a large number of the unemployed youths can be gainfully employed.

    “All these SURE-P and YOUWIN cannot tackle unemployment. They are mainly for self-employment and their capacity for sustenance is very low. If you give a youth N1 million or N2million, it is not enough for him to be employed and have the benefit of that employment in the short term. The sustainability is what we are talking about and there are so many factors that could erode the initial capital that he has been given. So SURE-P is not a thorough way of sorting unemployment out,” he submitted.

     

    Higher institutions of learning and unemployment

    The NANS president also berated various higher institutions in the country for not doing enough to tackle employment. He said: “Our higher institutions of learning are not turning out graduates that could hold out on their own and have gainful employment. They should begin to look at preparing graduates for self-employment. But we can correct the anomaly. The opportunity to do so is at this confab and that is what we are waiting for.”

    Prof. Akinfeleye, however, thinks otherwise. He said: “It is the policy makers that are the problems and not the universities. Anybody who has undergone an accredited programme in the university must have been trained to create jobs. Most of these graduates are creative. They only need to have the enabling environment to excel. It is not the fault of the curriculum. The curriculum we have is the curriculum of relevance and we teach them to be able to stand on their own. In standing on their own, the system must be supportive. In the US, when people have idea that they want to execute, they go to the banks and they would support you to start.

    “It is not the university that is at fault. It is the system. We have leaders who are not serious about youth unemployment. Youth unemployment is worse than Boko Haram’s menace. What the NIS tragedy has shown us is the recklessness, the carelessness and the deceit of the government’s claim that they had given out so many jobs. If they had given out such number of jobs, the number of those that applied for the NIS job wouldn’t have been that much. This kind of tragedy has never been heard of anywhere in the world and it is a disgrace to the country. The president should suspend the minister when they are doing the enquiry. The minister and the rest should be educated to stop saying rubbish.”

     

    NIS tragedy divides ethnic youth groups

    The call for the sack of the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, has attracted mixed feelings among leaders of various ethnic groups. While Comrade Yerima applauded the call, Comrade Aluh feels the call was unnecessary. “.The minister should be fired. This is purely a murder case. The family should be adequately compensated. Giving the next of kin the opportunity to work in NIS is not enough because it all amounts to suffering again,” Yerima said.

    Comrade Aluh, however, disagrees, saying that Abba Moro and Mr. David Paradang, the NIS boss, are not to blame for the tragedy. “Abba Moro and Mr. David Paradang are not to blame for the tragedy. Can a government that Comrade Abba Moro and its NIS agency led by Mr. Paradang represent willingly wish her citizens dead? No! They meant well by advertising and offering job opportunities that would have in the past been shared among the selfish political class. What happened is no man’s prayer for his fellow man. President Goodluck Jonathan’s gesture as far as giving automatic employment to families of the victims clearly shows that the government did not have any bad intention for organising the exercise.”

     

    The implication of the incident on the psyche of the youth

    Comrade Adeniran also looked at the effect of the tragedy on the psyche of Nigerian youths. He said: “It is not a gainsaying that the youth have lost hope in the present administration. A situation whereby government would hire contractors who will take so much from people but refuse to pump in enough resources to the management of the attendant challenges is unforgivable. The youth and even Nigeria as a whole will not forgive the present regime except those involved in the manslaughter are punished.

    The effect on the psyche of an average undergraduate, according to Gbadebo, “is not new. It is obvious to everybody now that the government does not really have anything for the Nigerian youths except we want to lie to ourselves. The only good thing about the NIS exercise was the fact that it is now clear to the whole world the level of unemployment in Nigeria.”

  • Gorgeous geometric styles

    Gorgeous geometric styles

    Most of us, if not all, would agree that Mathematics is not one easy subject to pull through with as all the calculations keep our heads busy, and because of this, we try as much as possible to run away from it. But this one in connection with fashion would surely interest you.

    The geometric dress comprises of bold prints that combine shapes like circles, octagons, triangles and the like. The whole combination is lovely and a little tutorial will pave your way to rocking the trend like a chic. Here is how to go about it:

    Geometric prints can be very tricky as dresses with larger prints make your curves appear bigger, while those with smaller prints make you look taller and still show the sexiness in you.

    You can mix prints, but this requires skills. It’s easier when you dress your top or bottom part in geometric prints and pair them with plain dresses. Dressing in geometric trousers and a plain peplum top looks adorable.

    If you are the office kind of girl, pick a knee-length geometric dress or skirt and do not overaccessorise. A piece of jewellery is fine. Try not to make your outfit look boring by adding a pop of colour to your outfit. Colours like orange, red and yellow would make the outfit look brilliant.

    For formal events, geometric dresses can go with a nude clutch and pumps. Playing to-match with your clutch and shoe is allowed

    Opt for mild make-up which includes a smoky eye and bold lips.

    Still scared of wearing geometric prints? Your homework has been done.

  • I regret being away from Nigeria for so long—UK-based Nigerian neurologist who returned home after 34 years

    I regret being away from Nigeria for so long—UK-based Nigerian neurologist who returned home after 34 years

    Michael Egbejumi-David hails from Delta State, but lived abroad for more than three decades. He left Nigeria after secondary school during which he lived in Brazil, United States and United Kingdom, where he studied neurology. In the UK, he worked as public health officer and became Head of Neuro-Rehabilitation Department.  He also found time to write articles and books. His first novel, The Final Come Down Came, was published in 2010.  Weaved with delightful humour, the story is one of a contemporary relationship journey and the everyday experiences of professional Nigerians  as seen through the eyes of a female doctor living in the UK. WALE AJETUNMOBI spoke to him.  Excerpts.

    WHEN did you leave the country? It has been 34 year exactly that I left. After I left Nigeria, I was initially in Brazil, then I went to New York for about eight years before I went to the United Kingdom.

    How do you feel coming back home after decades of your living abroad?

    One of the things I regret in life is that I took my career as my love; I don’t want to say too seriously. But I was quite blinkered; I was so focused that I didn’t come home. This is my fourth time of coming home, which is not very good. I was so obsessed in getting a career that I did not come home. I was here four years ago when my father died. It was then that I took the decision that I would relocate. So it took me four years to do that.

    What has changed in your perception of Nigeria?

    I was born in Lagos and I grew up in the state. But I went to secondary school in what was then called Bendel State. What I think of Lagos in particular is the Lagos I retain in my mind in the 1970s. But the then Lagos disconnects from the reality I see now and what I had in my mind as Lagos because I was not coming home as frequently as I should. I think I am sort of paying for that in some sense. For instance, I find Lagos overwhelming now; it just seems too much. So, I am having to re-learn, to re-adjust, and I found Lagos to be far bigger than I remember from the 70s. I went to some places to see patients and I was told the area is Igando. I never heard those places when I was growing up. I didn’t know there were places like that in the days when I was growing up. There is also one area called Egbeda. I didn’t know there was such an area. The Lagos I knew ended shortly after Ikeja, Ketu and Lagos Island. That was Lagos back then as far I was aware. So, everywhere is changed.

    I think to some extent, I had a romanticised idea of Lagos in particular because for me, Lagos is a home even though in terms of parentage and origin, I am from Delta State. So I am having to re-align and feel a bit of disconnect. Having said that, I think there are parts of Lagos and the country that are more vibrant now than I remember as well; things are happening now that I don’t think were happening. But when I came, Nigeria is a lot more bubbling. A lot of things are happening here. Like in the UK, for instance, you cannot go to any party white or black without playing Afro music. And this is Nigerian music.

    One of the best things that happened to those of us that live abroad is the growth of Nigerian music. Another thing that changed the way people saw us, especially those of us who live abroad, was Nollywood, which came to change the views of other blacks from the Caribbean about Nigerians. They saw Nigerian movies and saw how black people live. They felt that these are black people in charge of their own country. So, Nollywood did fantastically well for us; it made us get a lot of respect around the world.

    So, when I came in, I went to the Computer Village in Ikeja; it is fantastic. I drove through Oshodi and the street where I grew up, I didn’t recognise those places again. Lagos is fantastic. There are bits of new things; there are bits of roughness, which used not to be there. I feel a bit of hyper-energy, which was never there. Lagos has always been dynamic. You wouldn’t miss New York, Rio De Jenario and London too much. But here, there is another feeling.

    How long have you been practising as a neurologist?

    I started working in 1987. That is a long time ago. But since 2004, I have been managing my own team and head my department. Basically, what we focused on is neuro-rehabilitation. In post-surgery, we try to make sure that people actually have the best care. This exposed me to the management end of my career because for years, I was just a clinician in the strictest sense. But later, I was the head of a department, and sort of manager in human resources. For the first time, I know it is not just prescribe what you want; you have to manage resources. That is what interests me now; I will be more interested in managerial role even it if it is something at the policy level.

    As a physician, one affects life of patients, one at a time. But if you are playing a policy role, then you can detect what happened on a macro level and you affect a bunch of people a whole community – at a time. So, I think that is what I found out in management; it is not just me and my patient. It is what you do to affect the whole population. That is what interests me now; how to manage a healthcare system. In fact, I went back to school and I took a post-graduate degree in management of healthcare system. I did that for about 10 years and that’s where I see my interest.

    Is this the motive for your coming home?

    Well, my motive of coming back here is quite broad. I don’t want to get old abroad at all. In London, I see a lot of black people isolated in their later years. This is not nice given where we come from, our society and community. Here, you play one role or the other in your community; you contribute your experience in terms of counsel to the community. In the main, especially for people I called Afro-Caribbean, the reverse is the case. They become quite isolated the older they become. They are not relevant and almost locked away from the society. People come to look after you; social worker and carer might come and make tea and bread for you. And that is the only person you see that day.

    I just don’t want to be in such situation. A lot of our people have grown old and are experiencing such situation. So, I didn’t want any of that; I have always wanted to come home. In fact, I came home in 1985, wanting to settle immediately after I finished my programme. I applied to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), but they gave one sort of long story. I just left the country immediately. So, I had always wanted to come home. My motivation is not just growing older. Yes, I would love to be in a place where I can manage the healthcare system on a macro level that would benefit people. So it won’t be just me and my patient, one on one.

    What other things do you do in the UK apart from being a physician?

    I do a lot of writing. I am what you would call a social commentator on online and black publications around the world. A few newspapers in Nigeria, including The Nation, have published some of my articles. So, that is something I also want to pursue. I’ve got something to say and I’ve got my style of saying it. The feedback from readers is very positive and this encourages you to do more. So, I want to do a bit of socio-political commentary on a regular basis. I have had a book published and I have written the second book, but I want to publish it in Nigeria. I have mentioned earlier about Nollywood. It is one of the best things that have happened to us. Our music got revamped after Fela’s demise. The youth just took it. That is brilliant.

    You perhaps won’t even appreciate our music until you step out of the country and hear it everywhere. When you go to England and you hear Nigerian music being played on rotation on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the rest of them, you would know we have done something right. I felt like, oh my God, this is revolution going on in music and movies.

    When I was growing up, TV was not our thing; we read books. We always had a book in our pocket and then we would meet after football to compare notes. I felt I could begin a reading culture, I mean a kind of campaign that would make reading to be fun again. I have been to quite a few bookshops and to airports with request to stock my book. I feel like, what about just reading for pleasure; you get a good book and it transports you from that place and you get lost in the paragraph. The book I have written is what I describe as romantic novel. And people say, ‘wait a minute, you wrote a romantic novel; what’s wrong with you?’ And I told them, maybe you should read it. So, in my head, I felt I could start something as a writer who can write fantastically well, that people would love to take the book, hold it and don’t put it down till they finish. A writer that would make people fall in love with reading good storyline. So, those are some of the things that brought me back home. I want to be relevant and appreciated. Some of us have spent our best energies in other people’s land, leading to the growth of their healthcare sector and contributing to the growth of their economy. So, we contributed our talent, our skills, our abilities and energies for other people. Though, we didn’t do for free; we were paid well and that is fair enough. But, sometimes, life is more than that.

    Home is home after all. I would say I am excited to be home and there are quite a few things I want to do if I get the opportunity to have a say in how healthcare is managed. I will do it well. I also want to write regularly in newspapers and publish books to make people fall in love with reading. I also want to be relevant in my community. Those are the things that motivated me because I didn’t want to get old abroad. That would have been a waste of a lifetime.

    How would you cope with life in Nigeria given the almost perfect environment you have in England?

    I think it would be unfair to ask me to make a comparison. I was discussing with some people in Warri, and one of them was quite shocked that in England, you cannot just go and buy land and build a house. Then, he asked: ‘How do you people get house?…oh you buy it?’ Yes, there are people who build houses, but their number is insignificant. In my years in England, I don’t know anybody who bought a land and built a house. So, I think certain things here make life a little bit tasking. Everywhere has its own problem.

    For instance, I lived in a certain part of New York where shootings just seems to be normal. The neighbourhood is rough and aggressive. But I think there are certain aspects of Nigeria that make life tough. For instance, I am in healthcare profession and I just found healthcare in Nigeria in pieces. And there are brilliant Nigerian doctors abroad that I have worked with. So, I cannot explain the state of healthcare provision here, knowing that these are very good doctors. But, the reality here makes me so uncomfortable.

    One of the things I was told to look out for is that security is not so good. But, thank God so far, it is not as bad as people have painted it. Outside the country, you get scared a bit when people talk to you about security, but I have discovered it is not really as bad. Maybe I am lucky so far, thank God. The electricity situation; people said it has improved. And I said oh goodness, was it worse than this? If it was worse than this, I could imagine how it could be. I found out in Nigeria, you will have to be your own government. You provide your own security, water, light and road. Where I live in Warri, we had to contribute money to buy a transformer and sand to grade the road because the local council won’t do it. So, you become your own government, which is strange. Then, I look at the other side of the coin; taxation here seems not to be very robust. Perhaps, the government is not getting enough tax from the citizens to do some of those things at the local level.

    Perhaps, that is a very good excuse for the government. But then, Nigeria is not a poor country. I just found out that life depends on how you choose to live it and what you want to do as an individual. So, you don’t let things stop you. When most of us went abroad, yes, we were younger and hungrier, but we were quite determined. It was not easy when we got there. We went to school full time, we worked full time. Most of us lived four in hostel. So, we struggled and did what we had to do. Quite a few of us scaled through and got well-paid jobs. But then, it was not easy. You have to be determined.

    That is what I said to people sometimes, when they say ‘oh…I don’t want to go to Nigeria’. I told them, when you were going abroad, you struggled like hell. Don’t let that stop you. There is no paradise on earth; every place has its own little problem. I am not saying everything here is hunky-dory or sugar and spice. No, some things are quite frustrating. For instance, I found out that what should take you 10 minutes can take some sort of two days to be accomplished in Nigeria. And that can be quite frustrating. But you have to calibrate your mind to the system.

    Would you say it is a good decision, leaving your lucrative profession abroad and coming back home?

    Yes. I will say that. So far, I am enjoying my stay here. I like the fact that I am home. I think as professionals, who lived abroad, you always find something missing. For us, something is missing. And it took me a while to realise that what is missing is that feeling you get when your plane lands at Muritala Mohammed International Airport. I can’t explain it. You would just know you are at home; you would just know you belong here and matter to the people. You look around you, and the next thing you see is your people. I can’t explain it. That is what is missing abroad.

  • Bola Shagaya chances on good times

    Bola Shagaya chances on good times

    President Goodluck Jonathan’s nomination of Hajia Bola Shagaya for the forthcoming national conference would not come as a surprise to many. The popular socialite has sustained the closeness she has always maintained with successive governments since the days of General Ibrahim Babangida.

    The Bola Shagaya brand has succeeded in proving the point that a brand can remain relevant for as long as it recreates itself in tune with the spirits of the times. Bola Shagaya has not for once vied for an elective position, but her influence in every government in the history of contemporary Nigeria cannot be over-emphasised.

    The Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) is one of the two nominees in the category of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), alongside Ifeoma Idigbe. Since the news of her nomination was made public, his homes and offices have been receiving hordes of visitors on congratulatory missions. An inside source also said that various women groups have inundated her office with memoranda.